The Himachal Pradesh government has decided to conduct a high-level investigation into the death of Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation (HPPCL) Chief Engineer Vimal Negi.

The investigation will be conducted by an Additional Chief Secretary level officer in the state government, announced Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu in the Assembly on Wednesday.

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Anyone found responsible in the case of Negi’s death won’t be spared, he said, adding that the government will take strict action against him.

The chief minister informed the House that after Vimal Negi went missing, his wife had come to meet him and the government made every effort to find Vimal Negi along with the family. The government will take further action in this case after the post-mortem report.

Vimal Negi was posted as General Manager in the State Power Corporation and was missing since March 10 and his last location was in Bilaspur.

His body was recovered from Govind Sagar Lake near Shahtalai in Bilaspur district on Tuesday.

Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur has demanded a CBI inquiry into the case. He said he has raised this issue in the Assembly earlier as well.

The leader of the Opposition said that the government should get to the bottom of this case so that it can be ascertained whether it is murder or suicide. “It has come to light that Negi’s family has accused the senior officials  of putting undue pressure on him. Moreover, the functioning of the State Power Corporation has been under question for a long time,” he added.

This is the reason that both the officers and employees of the corporation and the family of Vimal Negi are demanding an investigation of this case by an impartial agency, he said. Only when the government hands over the investigation of this case to the CBI, all the questions will be answered and the family will also be satisfied.

Meanwhile, the Joint Front of HPSEBL Employees and Engineers also alleged an unfriendly work environment at the corporation and had demanded an inquiry to find out the truth. The HPPCL employees in a written communique to the chief minister had Even sought his intervention to conduct a thorough probe into the tragic death of Vimal Negi.

Backing the claim of the family members of Negi, they too alleged undue pressure and workplace mismanagement.